22 February 2011
We haven’t heard too much from New Zealand female artists over the ditch lately. Even Bic Runga’s fallen off the radar and now sells feather inspired jewellery through her website. However, with the release of kiwi hip-hop diva Ladi6’s sophomore album, there may just be hope for the girls yet.
Her album, The Liberation Of… is the follow up to her Gold certified (in New Zealand) 2008 debut, Time Is Not Much. Ladi6, a.k.a Karoline Tamati, mixes soulful trilling guitar, reverberating synths, sporadic brass sprinklings and her ululating howls to extend her message of hope and strength.
The two opening tracks, Bang Bang and Koln are fast-paced hip hop at its most punchy; Ladi6 harps about political injustice and betrayal, all the while cementing her don’t-mess-with-me disposition. Even her track Jazmine D.L, written as a tribute to her cousin who passed in 2009, is sung with that fiery, hilted strength; she shows her vulnerability and sadness through respect.
Tracks like Let It Go and Burn With Me are less lyric heavy but have an almost Blue King Brown swagger that will resonate with hip hop aficionados. Although The Liberation Of… is album two for Ladi6, it predominantly marks her debut here in Australia.
The benefit of this is that Ladi6 will be introduced to Oz as a fine-tuned hip hop soulstress, one who doesn’t just have a lot to say, but with each liberating entry, has a powerful way of saying it.
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